When We Get Behind Closed Doors
by Sheshe is my cat
Summary: Casey met a man who makes her feel like she never felt before. But it won't take long before she discovers a side of him that no one imagined existed.
1. The Other Side Of Marcus Bradford

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following characters: Casey Novak, Olivia Benson, Elliot Stabler, Fin Tutuola, John Munch, and Don Cragen  


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The Other Side Of Marcus Bradford

Their laughter filled the bar they were in. Casey, and her new love, Marcus, were out celebrating with the rest of the SVU squad. It had been exactly one year since Casey met Marcus during an investigation. They had been dating for twelve months, and it was Marcus's idea to start their second year together living in the same apartment.

Marcus Bradford was a prominent defense lawyer; respected by the community. He viewed on the outside as a terrific eligible bachelor. He got dozens of advances from the female lawyers at his firm, but rarely ever went on dates. Casey was only the third woman he had ever been serious with. His first serious relationship lasted four years, and then she left. Casey was told the woman moved out of state. His second exclusive girlfriend also left him. She allegedly ran off with another man after a two year relationship.

He was one of those people who everyone liked. His colleagues, his neighbors, his boss, even his mailman could sing his praises. The only odd thing about him was that, although he was liked by everyone, and polite and charming to everyone he spoke to, he didn't have any friends. He didn't like socializing, and never did unless it was absolutely necessary. He told Casey it was because his work kept him too busy. But she suspected there was more to it than that when he had been off for a week, and she still had to drag him out of the house to go out with her and her friends. Still, it was no big deal, and she hardly gave it a second thought.

Fin, Munch, and Elliot tried to get him to come out with them on more than one occasion, but he always had an excuse, usually one that had to do with work. But they still liked him. The only thing about him that was off-putting to the SVU squad was he was known for defending some extremely dangerous criminals. That's how him and Casey met she went up against him to put a rapist behind bars. She won, and he asked her out.

"And I wish you two the best," Olivia ended the toast.

The group wrapped up the evening, and went home. Marcus got the last of his boxes, and set foot in Casey's apartment for the first time as a resident. He moved into her place because it was closer to both of their offices than his.

"I love you. We are going to be so happy together." Marcus held her close to him on the couch.

It had never been spoken, but everyone, including them, assumed that was just the practice run, and that they would soon get married. They seemed perfect together. It was like one completed the other.

Casey was known for being devoted to her career. When she was a child all her friends would talk about how they would grow up to be moms and wives. Casey had different plans. She wanted to be a lawyer. She had always dreamed of that and only that. Until Marcus came along she never gave much thought to marriage—let alone motherhood, but after him all that changed.

While at first Casey seemed even happier than she had been the whole year, as the weeks went by she gradually mellowed down. Fin and Munch didn't notice it, but Elliot and Olivia sure did.

"We got her," Casey announced the news about their latest perp; a female accused of molesting her friend's young son. "She'll serve at least twenty years before parole."

Normally a win like that would make Casey proud, but the team saw general indifference. She congratulated the detectives, and left the precinct.

"What's with her?" Fin asked his colleagues.

The rest of the unit went about their business, but Olivia followed Casey out of the precinct. "Hey, Casey," Olivia called. She caught up with her on the steps outside.

"Yes," Casey answered.

"You seemed pretty out of it today. Are you okay?"

Casey shook her head, dismissing Olivia's concern. "I'm fine. I guess I'm just tired."

"You didn't seem like yourself yesterday or the day before or all last week either."

Casey looked beyond Olivia. She seemed like she wanted to talk, but she wasn't.

"What's going on?"

Casey returned her gaze to Olivia, and cleared her throat. "Nothing. Everything's great. It's like I said, just tired." Casey feigned a smile, and continued walking down the steps. Olivia let her go, but didn't buy her story.

Casey finished her day's work, and went home. As she was walking up the steps she was thinking; thinking about anything wrong she may have done that day. She went over all the things Marcus liked done in the morning, and all the things that she hadn't done in the past, that she came to regret. _Washed the dishes—washed them well, left the bathroom clean, made the bed, I'm home just when I said I would be. Sounds like I remembered everything._ Her thoughts comforted her, and she walked into the apartment with a smile—he wasn't as happy.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked. He always lost his temper the exact same way each time. First, he may seem aggravated, but was reasonably calm, second, he always made it look like he was having trouble controlling his anger; like _he _was trying to be sensible, but she kept saying things that eventually would push him over the edge. "You said you'd be here at four-thirty."

"No," Casey's heart started racing, and she hated to correct him, but she did. "I said five-thirty."

She immediately realized that her life would have been significantly easier that night if she had just pretended he was right and apologized. He would have gone a lot easier on her. He may not have done anything at all. That was the main thing Marcus liked—to be right, and not questioned. When he got that he was usually satisfied. But what she was living was all new territory for her. She wasn't used to abuse; therefore, she wasn't used to—or good at—preventing it. She wasn't abused as a child, and she had barely ever even been yelled at by a boyfriend. The most Marcus had ever done was a lot of yelling, some shoving, and very little slapping. What he did that evening was like nothing she had ever seen or felt before.

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"No--"

"Oh, so I must just be crazy."

"No, of course not, but I said five-thirty."

"No," he was still calm, "you didn't."

"Marcus, let's not do this again. What difference does it make? I'm here now, and---"

Those would be the last words Casey would say that night. Marcus carried his unconscious, bruised girlfriend from the living room floor to the bedroom, and left her on the bed. He was still enraged, but he always knew when to stop. He had defended enough men charged with beating their wives to death to know how important it was to quit when he was ahead.

The next morning Casey opened her eyes. Her entire body was aching. She looked at the digital clock on the bed post. It read six-thirty, so it wasn't a surprise that Marcus wasn't lying next to her. He always left the house at six every morning. She engaged in a struggle with her own body—it wanted to rest, she wanted to get ready for work. When she finally made it to the bathroom she gasped at the sight of her own face.

While the side of her jaw only had a small, light colored bruise, her eye was dark purple. She panicked at the thought of how she would explain the marks to her colleagues. She could have stayed home for a couple of days, but bruises take up to a week to heal, and if she spent a week out of work someone would be coming to deliver paperwork, and wanting her to sign documents.

She frantically went through the medicine cabinet looking for cover-up. She had no problem covering the mark on her jaw, but her eye was a bit more complicated. The cover-up only made the bruise less apparent and faded. But for the life of her she couldn't hide it entirely. _This will have to do. _She dressed in a long sleeved blouse to cover the bruises on her arms. She was able to wear a skirt—like she usually did—because her legs were unmarked.

Casey had the entire ride to work to come up with believable excuses for the bruise on her eye. She wouldn't dare try the standard, most commonly heard, _I fell_, excuse. It had to be something that could easily cause a black eye. It took the whole twenty minute drive to come up with it, but Casey had her excuse—it wasn't a good one, but it would have to do.

The first person she would try her lie out on would be the District Attorney.

"What happened to you?" the D.A. asked.

"Last night I went in the kitchen to get a glass of water. It was dark, and I couldn't really see much. I reached for the handle of the refrigerator, but I pulled the freezer open instead. I hit myself in the face with the freezer door."

"That's the first time I ever heard that one. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It doesn't even hurt."

That wasn't _entirely _untrue. It did hurt, but she hardly noticed it because it paled in comparison to the rest of her throbbing body.

Casey gave a few more people the explanation, and got to work. It was late afternoon when she got a call from the Special Victims Unit asking for a warrant. She was able to obtain the search warrant, and she brought it to the home Elliot, Olivia, Fin, and Munch were standing in front of; along with numerous other cops waiting to get in that house. It was such a big case even Cragen was there—but mostly to supervise.

Everyone noticed the black eye, and the bruise on her jaw that the faded make-up revealed. But with a sex offender, and possible murderer about to walk they couldn't stop to discuss it. However, once the search was over Olivia went straight to the A.D.A.'s place of business, and confronted her. She had to go over there anyway to discuss the charges of the man whose home they raided.

"And hopefully our witnesses will be able to convince the jury he raped and killed those women, and we'll get a conviction….several convictions," Casey told Olivia.

"Good. Cause I really want to nail this guy. We've been tracking him for months. I'll see you at his arraignment."

"Yes, it's Thursday. Ten o'clock."

"I'll be there. Oh, yeah, with all this going on I never got a chance to ask you about your eye," Olivia said.

Casey told her what she told everyone else.

"And the mark on your chin?"

"What?" Casey hadn't been in front of a mirror in a while. She then realized what Olivia was referring to, and pulled out a compact mirror with the cover-up, and hid the bruise.

"Casey, did something happen to you?" Olivia asked a little more concerned than she was when the conversation began.

"I told you," she repeated the lie.

Olivia didn't know what to make of that. She knew she was being lied to. She scanned Casey for anymore discolored areas. But her face and legs were the only parts of her that were exposed. It only took a second for Olivia to figure out what must have happened. There were a million things that could have happened, but what she had in mind seemed to be the most likely of the rest. The two of them stared at each other for a while; both with a look of fear. Casey's mind was trying to come up with explanations. And, if worse came to worse, and she had to tell Olivia the truth, excuses for Marcus's misconduct.

"Casey," Olivia said softy; her voice filled with grief. She intended to say more after that, but her mind was blank.

Casey stood from her desk. "It's not what you think," she said nervously.

"What is it then?"

"…Please," Casey pleaded, "Don't say anything to anyone, please."

That statement hit Olivia like a ton of bricks. Even when she figured out what was happening she was hoping she was wrong, and that Casey was about to give her a logical, truthful explanation; one that would make her feel foolish about thinking Marcus was anything less than what she first perceived him to be—a kind, decent, debonair man. But Olivia's first impression was dead wrong, and now she knew without a doubt there was another side to Marcus Bradford.

Olivia reached out her arm, and placed her hand on Casey's shoulder. "You need help. Let---"

"No. I need to work this out for myself."

"You're not thinking of staying with him, are you?"

Casey was silent.

"Casey, you know about this as well as I do. This won't change. It's only gonna get worse."

"That wasn't him. That's not the man I fell in love with. Something must be wrong."

"No, Casey. It just took him this long to show you who he is."

"I have to get back to work. Please close the door on your way out." Casey went back to her desk, and sat behind it.

Olivia was at a loss for words. She had said all she could say. She spent a few more seconds trying to think of something else to tell her, but she couldn't. Olivia sighed, and followed Casey's request.

"What's with you?" Elliot asked. Olivia had strolled into the squadroom with a distant look about her face.

She didn't know how to answer Elliot's question. She didn't feel it was her place to tell him what she found out. But she wanted to. If for nothing else, to get his advice on what she should do. Maybe if they had been alone she might have told him, but Fin and Munch, were there. Cragen's door was open, and six other officers were within hearing distance as well.

"Nothing," Olivia said. She looked around at the full squadroom, and back at Elliot. She gave him a look that said she knew he wouldn't buy her lie, and there was something to discuss, but that was not the time.

He got the message and nodded, then looked back down at his work.

Olivia sat at her desk, and did the same.

"Hey, you find out what happened to Novak?" Fin asked her.

"Yeah, freak accident. Long story," Olivia said.

He bought it, and went back to what he was doing.

It was after dark by the time the SVU squad was finished for the day. Olivia and Elliot were the last to leave. On their way out Elliot remembered what he wanted to ask her about.

"So what was wrong with you after you went to see Novak?"

They were in front of the elevator. She was about to press the button—she didn't. "I don't even know if I can tell you."

"You can tell me anything. What is it?"

"Okay, but only because I don't know what to do. I mean if I nag her about it she will pull away more, and if I just leave her alone she could be in real danger, if---"

"If you tell me what you're talking about I can help. Right now I can't do anything."

"It's Casey. Marcus has been hitting her."

"Marcus? Marcus Bradford?"

"Shocking, I know. I tried to talk to her about leaving. She wouldn't discuss it. The problem is…well part of the problem is I can't tell if she wants to leave, but is too scared or she loves him, and isn't ready to give up yet."

Elliot was still coming out of the shock. It wasn't like that was the first time he had ever heard of anyone doing that. It was just the first time he had ever been that surprised that someone he liked so much was so different than he ever imagined.

"Elliot," Olivia said, "are you here?"

"Yeah, I just can't believe it. Are you sure? Did she say that?"

"Just about. I'm sure, El." Olivia pushed the elevator button. She was more than ready to go home, and it didn't look like Elliot was going to be of any help. "Nevermind. Just don't say anything, huh?"

"I won't." He and her stepped into the empty elevator. "Don't you think we should do something?"

"Yes. I do. But I don't know what. We've seen this before; it's very hard to make these women leave. I'll talk to her the next time I see her…if I can take her aside. Today she was shaken up because I found out. Maybe some other time she'll be more cooperative."

Casey walked into her apartment, and the first thing she saw was Marcus's smiling face. The two of them had a great evening, and, like she always did when he turned on the charm, she felt like she was falling in love with him all over again. He never mentioned or apologized for his rage. When it was over it was over; it was never brought up by either of them again. When he wasn't angry they went back to being the couple they started out as.

It was nights like that one that reminded Casey why she was in the relationship to begin with. The negative aspect of it was when he was good he was very good. His charm made her think that he was a perfect gentleman, and if there was something wrong with the two of them it must be of her own doing.

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Thanks for reading. Please review.

Next Chapter: What does a serial killer have in common with Casey Novak?


	2. Rescue Me

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following characters in this chapter: Elliot Stabler, Casey Novak, Olivia Benson, Fin Tutuola, John Munch, Huang, and Don Cragen.

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Rescue Me

"I've got a woman about to kill again, and I can prevent it. Why are you trying to stop that?" Elliot argued with Casey.

The SVU team had been looking for a female serial killer who preys on men in their mid thirties. All her victims were brown haired business men, whom she wined and dined, then took to a hotel room, and brutally murdered. All of the men were victimized in such a way that it definitely qualified as a SVU case.

It took weeks, but the team finally had a suspect; thirty-five year old Bridget White. The only thing standing in the team's way of a search of her home was Casey Novak. She didn't feel there was enough evidence to get a warrant—Elliot and Olivia felt otherwise.

"Casey, three bartenders identified her. She was seen with three of the victims before they died," Olivia needlessly reminded her.

"It's not enough," Casey said losing her temper. They had been nagging her for almost twenty minutes. "And she wasn't seen _with _them, she was seen near them. She wasn't a guest at any of the hotels, and she had reason to be there. In the death of Michael Legard she was in the same restaurant as him----"

"The night he was killed," Olivia interrupted.

"But!" Casey snapped, "she had a business dinner with her boss. He confirmed she was there. You saw the receipt."

"Yeah, and then he left, she hung out at the bar, picked up Michael, they went up to his room, and she killed him," Elliot said.

"That's only a theory. Call me when you have actual evidence." Casey left the squadroom fuming. She didn't have that much to be angry at—not with them anyway. But that's who she turned into over the weeks she was residing with Marcus.

She never was known as a cheery person, but at one time she was reasonably happy. By the end of the month she was a new person. The night after they went out to celebrate the couple moving in together was the last time Marcus was seen at a public gathering just for fun. Casey used to go out without him, and then she stopped. Her friends and colleagues saw it coming; she never enjoyed herself. She stopped enjoying everything.

The day after Olivia found out the truth she tried to talk with her again—it was a fruitless conversation. Fin, Munch, and Cragen were still in the dark about Casey's secret, and were perplexed by her turn-around.

"What do we do now?" Olivia turned to Cragen's office. His door was open, and he had been looking out watching the team argue with Casey. Though he wouldn't dare get in the middle of it. Lately Casey had been a force not to be reckoned with.

"Find her evidence," Cragen replied.

"You guys are not going to believe this one," Elliot walked into the squadroom later that day.

Off his look the whole SVU squad stood from their desks, and gathered around him.

"What is it?" Fin asked.

"Look at this." Elliot showed a picture to the squad. It was on the front page of a paper that was five years old. The two people in the photo were Marcus Bradford and Bridget White. "This was taken five years ago at Bridget's book signing."

"They used to be a couple," Olivia said.

"We have to get Marcus in here," Fin said.

"Let's call Casey first. She can get the warrant while we talk to Marcus," Olivia said.

"Why is this enough for a warrant?" Elliot asked.

"When you were out Munch found out about three other men killed in three different hotels in Utah four years ago. Bridget was a guest in all those hotels on each night they died," Olivia informed him.

Elliot called Casey and Munch called Marcus. Casey was the first of the two to arrive.

"Okay, I'm tired, so you better have something good," Casey warned them.

Munch and Fin told her about what they had found, and Elliot showed her the paper. It wasn't needed to get the warrant, but he figured it would be better that she hear it from him instead of the news.

Casey was understandably surprised as she looked at the paper. That must be the woman Marcus had told her about. He mentioned a Bridget; she was the one he said ran off with another man. Casey remembered he said something about her moving to Utah.

Marcus walked into the precinct with that friendly smile he was prone to having. He nodded and greeted everyone he passed. Munch and Fin were always glad to see him. Munch had a short list of the people he was friendly to, and Marcus was right at the top.

"Hello," Munch said.

"Hey, Man," Fin greeted Marcus by hitting his fist against Marcus's.

"Hey, Baby," Marcus said to Casey.

Casey smiled at him.

Elliot decided to break the discomfort he assumed Casey was feeling. "Fin and Munch have to ask you about an ex of yours."

Fin and Munch brought him to an area of the precinct where they could all sit. Marcus told them all about Bridget. He said that she was crazy, and that he never would have given her a second look if he hadn't been on the rebound from his last girlfriend.

Casey gave the squad the warrant they wanted, and Bridget's home was searched. They found bloody clothes; some her's, some belonging to the men that were found unclothed. Bridget was arrested.

Olivia, Huang, and Elliot gathered outside the interview room preparing what Huang would say to get a confession out of Bridget.

Casey trusted that they would get a confession, and went back to her office to get ready for the prosecution.

"What I don't get," Olivia said to Elliot and Huang, "is why she did it. "She was a successful author, she had her whole life ahead of her, and then she started to kill in her thirties. Who does that?"

"The question is how long had she been planning it?" Elliot said. "Marcus said she just up and left. Did she just decide to move across country, and start a new life as a serial killer?"

"That's unlikely," Huang said. "She probably repressed the urge to kill for years, possibly since adolescence, then something happened to trigger her to act on her fantasies. When she left she was probably trying to escape her desire to kill. Female serial killers are rare, and there hasn't been one documented case in which the killer wasn't a victim themselves at one time. They usually have very specific victims that match their own assailants."

"All Bridget's victims had the same eye color, hair color, and were almost the same height," Olivia remembered.

"I'll bet whoever victimized Bridget had the same features as her victims," Huang said.

"Marcus has those features," Olivia didn't mean to let that slip in the company of someone who was unaware of Casey's new living arrangements.

Elliot was thinking it too, but was able to keep from saying it. He shot Olivia a 'how are you gonna get out of this one?' look after Huang looked at her quizzically.

Olivia tried to recover, but eventually she and Elliot had to tell Huang what was going on.

"But no one knows about it, so you can't say anything," Olivia told him.

After he used the information to get a confession out of Bridget Huang agreed to Olivia's request.

"We have to call Casey, and tell her all this. This is going to be the defense's argument. She needs to know about it," Elliot said to Olivia.

"I know. I am going to her office right now," Olivia replied.

"You get a confession?" Casey asked Olivia.

Olivia closed the door to her office before answering. "Yeah," she told Casey about Bridget's statement and about what she said her relationship with Marcus was like. Olivia knew that what she was telling Casey Bridget lived through, Casey was living through too.

"So defense is going to plead not guilty due to mental disease or defect," Casey figured. She seemed to register no emotional response to Olivia's words. It was as if it had nothing to do with her. "Well that lets me off the hook for a long, drawn out prosecution. I don't qualify to prosecute this any more. I'm living with the person the defense is going to use." Casey looked at Olivia, wondering why she was still there. "You have to take this to the D.A." Olivia still sat before Casey. "She should be in her office…….it's upstairs. Why are you still here, Olivia?"

"Because of what you said, that you're living with the defense's argument."

"Olivia," Casey sighed. "When are you going to drop this?"

"I don't plan on dropping it. Not as long as you're living with Marcus."

Casey wasn't in the mood for sharing, but Olivia was there, so she figured she might as well tell her what she'd been thinking.

"I was thinking…that maybe we should go to couples' therapy. You know those groups that sit around and talk about the troubles in their relationships to a shrink?"

"I've heard of them." Olivia showed no enthusiasm to Casey's idea. She was convinced that even if Casey some how managed to get Marcus to counseling it wouldn't change him. The only thing Olivia wanted to hear was Casey's plan for leaving him.

"But I don't know if he will go. He might get really mad if I bring it up."

"That's a safe bet."

"I'm just not ready to quit yet."

"Casey, I'm not going to pretend I know why you are so determined to stay with this guy, but I will say this, I know you love him, and he probably loves you too. But he is not going to change. I don't know how these men get like this, but I know they almost never get better."

"Almost doesn't mean never."

"No. But it means that it's rare. And while you are trying to find out whether it's never or not you could get killed."

Casey stood from her seat behind her desk. "I don't know what to do," she said as she gathered the paperwork she was working on, and stacked it neatly on her desk.

"All you have to do is either kick him out or move yourself. I'll help you."

"Olivia, I am not quitting yet. I've had enough for one day. I'm taking the rest of the day off. See you tomorrow."

Casey left Olivia in her office.

"Cancel my four o'clock," Casey barked at her secretary.

"You're leaving? It's only two," the secretary said.

"I know what time it is. Just do it."

The secretary ignored the new Casey she'd come to know, and did as she was asked.

Casey entered her apartment. She kicked her shoes across the floor. She didn't have to worry about being neat because Marcus wouldn't be home for a couple hours.

Casey was terrified as she sat on her living room sofa. There were so many things she had to worry about. How would Marcus take her suggestion? How could they work on their problems if she couldn't get him to go to counseling?

Olivia accepted that trying to talk to Casey about Marcus was futile. If she couldn't talk Casey into protecting herself she would rely on the people in the apartments by Casey and Marcus's. While Casey was in her apartment rehearsing how she would talk to Marcus when he got home Olivia was in the halls knocking on the doors of the neighbors asking them to call her cell if they heard any chaos from Casey's apartment.

By the time Marcus walked through the door Casey was a wreck. She had two hours to work herself up to the point that she just couldn't tell him what she planned. When he came home she had shifted her thoughts from the couples' therapy to Bridget White—which wasn't any more comforting.

"Hey, Cas," he took off the coat of his suit, and laid it on the back of the couch. Then he walked around the couch, and sat beside her. He looked at the shoes on the floor (she never picked them up) and the paper she left unfolded and spread all over the coffee table. "You sure made a mess of this place," he said with a smile, but Casey knew he was irritated.

"Sorry. I'll clean it up. I just got caught up thinking about…stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Bridget White. Did they tell you what she said about you?"

"Yeah. She's full of it."

Casey couldn't believe he said that. Did he think she didn't know him? Didn't he know that she knew everything Bridget said about him was true? She'd seen it. She lived it. That statement made her almost forget she had decided not to talk about the counseling yet.

"You know," Casey looked for the right things to say. She had to be careful with her choice of words. "I was thinking. Maybe we should try couples' therapy." Marcus stared at her, silently, and she swallowed hard, anticipating his reaction.

"Is this about Bridget?" he was obviously angry, but he didn't raise his voice.

"...I was just thinking maybe we could use some help."

"You're actually going to let that crazy bitch make you question this relationship?"

"I love you, but we need help. This isn't working, Marcus."

"Shut up!" he stood from the couch. He couldn't argue with her about Bridger any longer. Everything she was saying was right, and he knew it, so he chose to fly off the handle about something else. "Look at this place! It's a pig pen! What's wrong with you?" He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her up from the couch. "Huh? What is wrong with you?"

He started shaking her, and she knew that he was about to start hitting. The shaking got harder then he pushed her to the floor. The entire time he was beating her she was thinking of how her life got to that. At that point it was obvious to her that their relationship had to end.

Those were the last thoughts she had before she heard the sound of her door being kicked in. Someone had called Olivia. She and Elliot were across town on a case, but she sent the cops to arrest Marcus.

While Marcus was tackled and cuffed one of the officers that wasn't wrestling Casey's boyfriend to the floor came to her aid. Casey was conscious, but unable to move.

"Don't try to move," the officer said. "The ambulance is on its way."

"No. I don't need a trip to the hospital. The last thing I need is to be waiting around an emergency room for six hours." Casey managed to sit up and soon stand.

Olivia arrived with Elliot just as one of the police cars was leaving with Marcus. The ambulance was pulling away too, and Olivia and Elliot assumed Casey was in it. Their worry was eased because the ambulance had no lights or sirens going—couldn't be that serious.

"What happened?" Olivia asked one of the officers.

"We came in and he had her pinned on the floor. I think we got here just in time. She was beaten pretty badly. I tried to get her to go to the hospital, but she refused."

"Where is she now?" Olivia asked.

"Inside," the officer pointed up the stairs to Casey's apartment.

Elliot continued talking to the cop while Olivia went up the stairs to persuade Casey to go to the hospital.

"So she agreed to press charges?" Elliot asked the cop.

"She didn't really say she was or wasn't. We took him away for her safety, but I'll be back in a couple hours—after she's calmed down—to ask her what she decided."

"How long can you keep him?"

"With printing and processing it will take at least four hours before he can be released."

Elliot smiled and nodded he knew the officer was doing him a favor, without Elliot's connections Marcus could have walked out of jail in less than an hour.

The officer left, and Elliot went up to Casey's apartment. Olivia was uselessly trying to get her to go get medical treatment.

"You could have internal injuries," Olivia told her.

"I'm not bleeding. The bruising isn't that bad. I am not even in that much pain. I do not need a doctor." Casey stressed every one of those last six words. "And that's the last I want to hear about it."

"Fine. Never mind that," Elliot said. "You need to decide whether or not to press charges against him for this."

"I don't know."

"Casey," Olivia said, "if you let him get away with this he will only do it again."

"I'll think about it. Can I just be alone now, please?"

"Sure," Elliot said. "Call us if you need anything."

Elliot and Olivia had left Casey to her own devices. Now it was up to her to decide what she would do about Marcus. There was no one there to influence her choice. It was all hers.

Elliot got in the car and so did Olivia. The first thing out of her mouth was, "she isn't going to press charges. She's gonna get him out and take him back."

"You don't know that. This might have been the straw that broke the camel's back. This might have been all she needed to know the relationship is no good, and she has to stay away from him."

Casey sat alone in her disheveled apartment. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but she wasn't feeling much pain at all. She wasn't feeling much of anything at all. Her mind was replaying those thoughts in her head. The thoughts she had right before the cops arrived. She didn't want to break up with Marcus, but there seemed to be no hope for him. Still as disappointed as she was by his behavior, she didn't believe he belonged behind bars. Her plan was to not press charges, but put an end to the relationship, and try to forget all of what happened that month.

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Thanks for reading. Please review.

Next Chapter: Casey makes a choice that surprises everyone including herself.


	3. It Just Keeps Getting Better

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following characters in this chapter: Casey Novak, Olivia Benson, John Munch, Elliot Stabler, Fin Tutuola, and Don Cragen.

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It Just Keeps Getting Better

Casey was just about to call the police department and tell them she wasn't pressing charges against Marcus. But first she had to be sure that was what she really wanted. She was weighing all the pros and cons when she heard a knock at the door.

She opened it. It was Ben, Marcus's colleague.

"Hi," he said, "I…uh…I heard what happened."

"How?"

"It's all over town."

"Great, so now everyone I work with knows too. This just keeps getting better. What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see if you were all right, are you?"

"I'm fine, Ben. What are you really doing here?"

"…Can I come in?"

Casey opened the door wider to let him in.

"Okay," Casey said, "you're in. Now tell me what you want."

"I was just wondering if you were planning on pressing charges against him?"

"You were wondering if I was pressing charges against him or you're here to try and make sure I don't?"

Ben laughed nervously. "You got me. Look, it's not like me and him qualify as friends or anything, but I do know him. He's a good guy. If he really did those things to you he must have been really angry. I'm not saying it's okay, but everyone has those moments when they just lose control of themselves. He shouldn't be in jail."

"I don't think so either. It's just that this isn't the only time he's lost control. This is just the first time he's been caught."

"And you're afraid if he gets out he will hurt you again?"

"Yeah. But you're right. He's a good man, and I'm not gonna ruin his career by having him locked up, so you can go now. You've convinced me."

Casey waited until Ben left then she called the cops that arrested Marcus, and told them to let him go. Then she waited. How long would it take for him to come home? How long would it take for him to walk through that door and react to what happened? Would he be mad? Would he be sorry? And how would he take the news? The news that their relationship had to end.

Casey replayed those thoughts in her mind over and over again until she heard a knock at the door. She jumped and then her heart started racing.

"Who is it?" she said with a shaky voice.

"It's me, Casey," Marcus said.

Casey unlocked the deadbolt, reached for the knob, and turned it with a trembling hand. As soon as she turned the knob he pushed the door wide open, pushing her into the wall. But he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice in one day. He wasn't going to express his fury at her for humiliating him, and having him arrested. Once he got in the apartment he closed and locked the door, and went straight for the bedroom, where he planned to stay for the rest of the night.

Casey remained standing against the wall she was pushed into for the better part of five minutes. It was obvious he was angry with her, so it was probably a bad idea to initiate a discussion about anything confrontational—breaking up.

It was nearing eleven o'clock at night when Casey entered the bedroom. She had delayed confronting him all evening by watching T.V., doing dishes and other housework, but enough was enough. It was time to face him. He was sitting on the edge of the bed flipping through an old magazine.

"Marcus?" Casey said, turning his attention from the magazine to her. He stared at her with a face that was blank. There was no expression at all. She had no way of knowing what he was thinking. "I think we should talk."

"Okay." He moved to the right of the bed, making room for her to sit, she did. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Us."

"What about us? How you left me in jail for an hour? How you questioned my love for you based on the assessment of some lunatic's idea of what kind of person I am?"

"All I did was suggest that we see someone about _our_ problems, not your problems with your ex."

"And what are _our_problems?"

Casey wouldn't dare say it aloud. If she did it would only enrage him. And it wouldn't help. He would only say that he wouldn't have to hit her if she stopped screwing up.

"Hmm? What are they?"

"I think you know."

Marcus stood from the bed, his voice was slightly raised. "I think you better say it before you piss me off any more." His tone was threatening, but he wasn't really planning on taking it to the next level.

"That. That look in your eyes. This way you have of making me feel like if I say another word you will…..kill me."

"Do you feel that way now? Because for someone who's afraid to talk you sure are saying a hell of a lot."

"Maybe I'm just hoping you're not stupid enough to screw up two times in one evening."

Casey wished more than anything that she hadn't let that slip. He swung his hand to slap her in the face, but she ducked, and ran out of the room. She headed to the front door. She opened it, and there was Olivia. Marcus sprinted out of the bedroom screaming profanities at Casey. When he saw Olivia standing in the door way he stifled the screaming, and went back to the bedroom.

"You see that," Olivia said. "He will not change." Olivia had heard that no charges were pressed on Marcus, and came over to see if Casey was all right.

"That was me. I said something to upset him."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Casey, this has to stop. I came here to escort Marcus and his belongings out of your apartment. I have the cuffs if I'll need them. All I need is for you to say the word."

Casey glanced at the door Marcus was behind and then back to Olivia.

"It's okay," Olivia said. "You can say it."

"Okay. Take him."

Olivia nodded. Then she went over to the bedroom door, and knocked on it.

"Marcus, open up."

He opened the door. "What?"

"I'm here to escort you and your things out of this apartment."

He looked at Casey, whose eyes were anywhere but on him.

"Fine," he complied.

After an hour Marcus had all his stuff out of Casey's apartment. He carried the last box out of the apartment. Olivia closed and locked the door after he walked out.

"Are you okay?" she asked Casey.

"No."

"You want me to stay with you tonight?"

"Thanks, but I'd rather be alone."

"Okay. Call me if you need anything. And I will have an officer drive by here every hour just to be sure he doesn't come back."

Casey spent that night on the couch. She hardly slept at all. When she did it was only for twenty minutes at a time—if that. When she was awake she was afraid. Afraid she would hear a knock at the door. Afraid it would be Marcus coming to show her how angry he was at her for humiliating him by having Olivia kick him out. She knew one day she would pay for it. She just didn't know when.

But when she put aside her fears she was still in love with him. She herself was baffled by the hold he had on her. She had never before understood how women in violent relationships wanted to stay. But her relationship with Marcus explained that to her. The problem was she couldn't explain it to anyone else. She knew all her colleagues and the detectives she had known for so long were looking at her and thinking about her the way she used to look at and think about women she knew were abused, and it killed her to know they thought those things about her. She wished they could understand, but she couldn't verbalize her feelings. And even if she could, ultimately, what they wanted to see happen—her leaving Marcus for good—was probably for the best anyway. She just wasn't ready for that yet.

Morning came and it was time to go to work. It was time to get dressed, go to her office, and do her job. And try to ignore the pitiful, sympathetic looks she was bound to get from everyone she knew.

That's exactly what she did. It was hard to just ignore the 'are you okay?' 'Is there anything I can do?' questions she got, but she did. The hardest part of the day came in the late morning when she had to go to the Special Victims Unit precinct. It didn't matter how much she braced herself she still was more uncomfortable upon entering that squadroom than she had ever been. The whole time she was there no one said anything to her, but she felt their eyes on her.

She thought her time there would never end, but it finally did. She tried to slip away unnoticed because she knew as soon as business talk was done Olivia or someone else would be wanting to check in with her. She was just about to enter the elevator when that person appeared. It was the last person she expected.

"Before you ask it," Casey said to Munch, "I'm okay. I'm fine, really."

"I knew you'd say that, so I wasn't going to ask."

"Then what did you come over here for?"

"You're not the only one who uses the elevator."

They both stepped into the elevator. Casey didn't believe his story, and waited for him to finally say whatever it was he wanted to say.

"So," he tried to sound casual, "you heard from what's-his-name?"

"Marcus. And no." She stared straight ahead at the elevator doors; almost willing them to open.

"You gonna take him back?"

The elevator doors opened.

"I don't know."

She walked out of the elevator. He watched her leave the building, and not look back. He stayed in the elevator, and went back up to the squadroom. When he got there there were three nosey detectives waiting to hear what he'd learned.

"Did she say anything to you?" Olivia asked hoping he had more luck than she had.

"All I got was she doesn't know whether or not she will take him back. So far he hasn't tried to contact her though."

"Maybe he's breaking up with her," Elliot said.

"Wouldn't that be lucky?" Olivia said.

"At least he hasn't sought revenge for her having him taken out of the house—yet," Fin said.

After she finished her rough day at work Casey went back to her apartment. Up the steps, around the corner, and there she saw him, standing in front of the door. He was checking his watch, so he didn't see her when she saw him.

Casey froze, momentarily, then she continued walking down the hall. She'd known she was going to have to face him again eventually, so there was no point in running away.

"Marcus," she said drawing his attention away from his watch to her.

"Casey," he said with a smile she was relieved to see—she expected anger. "I'm sorry it took me this long to come over, but I was angry….you can understand that."

Casey was silent waiting for him to continue. He looked at the door awkwardly.

"You gonna open that?"

"Yeah," she answered after brief hesitation.

Once they'd gotten inside, and sat down he finished what he came to say.

"But you were right, we do have problems. I'll admit I have a short fuse, but I'm not the only one who is at fault here."

"Okay?"

"You know what I mean. You're always late. You never do what you say you will. Sometimes it's like you're _trying_ to make me mad."

"I'm not…..I never am."

"What I'm trying to say, Casey, is I'm willing to try that group counseling thing you wanted to do."

"Really?" she said with a smile. That was a big step for him. It wasn't everyday that Marcus Bradford would admit he needed counseling. The fact that he did showed her he really cared about them, so she was thrilled.

"Yeah, really." He pulled her closer to him, and kissed her.

That very day Casey made phone call after phone call until she found couple's counseling that was right for her and Marcus. Their first session was scheduled for the first Saturday of the month. It would only be nine days before Marcus started the help he needed.

"Since I agreed to this," he said after she got off the phone, "does that mean you are gonna let me move back in here?"

"I don't know," she said hesitantly.

"Come on. I'm doing everything you asked. What more do you want from me?"

"Okay. We can try it."

Casey and Marcus lived in peace for nine days. No one was told or knew they were living together again. People asked about Marcus, but Casey would just lie, and say she hadn't heard from him.

On that evening they went to their first meeting of couple's counseling. It was held in a church two Saturdays a month. After fifteen minutes of the standard mingling with the other couples (Marcus didn't mingle as much as he stood by the wall impatiently waiting for the counselor to come, so they could get it over with.) the counselor arrived, and the session started. Before he and Casey took their seats Marcus took her aside.

"Now listen," he said. "What ever you do do not talk about our fighting. You can tell them about the arguing, but do not mention the fights."

"I thought that's why we are here."

"No. We're here because we can't get along. Once we learn how to deal with each other calmly we will automatically stop the fighting. No one ever has to talk about it. Okay?"

Casey nodded, and they headed for their seats.

Nine couples sat in chairs in a circle. If the circle was a clock the counselor would have been in the chair at three o'clock. Four couples introduced themselves to the group—names first, longevity of the relationship next, and problems last. While listening to them Casey couldn't help but feel a loss of hope for her and Marcus's relationship. All the other pairs had problems that were minimal. Hers were much worse. She hoped Shawna—the counselor—would be able to help them.

It was Casey and Marcus's turn to introduce themselves. "Hi, I'm Casey, and this is my boyfriend Marcus. We've been together for over a year, and we are living together."

"Hello," Shawna said, "Hello Marcus."

"Hi,"

"What brings you here?"

The counselor asked that question to Marcus, but Casey answered. "Everything was fine with us until we moved in together. Then everything just…."

"Just what?"

"Fell apart. We argue all the time. Over nothing."

Shawna then went on to the next four couples. After that she started with the couple that was first to introduce themselves. She didn't go in order, and to Marcus's dismay soon she got around to them.

"So," Shawna said, "Marcus, what do you think the problem with your and Casey's relationship is?"

"…..I don't know."

"Come on, Yeah you do."

"I guess the biggest problem is she always does stuff that bugs me."

"What stuff?"

"Sometimes she leaves out dirty dishes, and she knows I can't stand any kind of disarray."

"And what do you say when she does those things?"

"….Sometimes I lose my temper. Okay? I can admit it. I yell."

"But what do you say?"

"I don't remember."

"Casey," Shawna said, "do you remember?"

Casey looked at Marcus, then back to the counselor. It was now or never. If she wasn't going to be honest they might as well have not come. She inhaled and exhaled loudly. "Sometimes he insults me, calls me things."

"Like?"

"Like swear words."

"Marcus, how do you feel when you're saying these things?"

"Angry at first…but after I always feel like crap. Especially when she cries."

"Do you apologize?"

"No. I know I should though."

"You could do that now. Go ahead."

"I'm sorry, Casey."

"I know," Casey replied.

Shawna spent the rest of the session with another couple whose problems were almost identical to Casey and Marcus's. While they talked Casey wondered how much alike was she to the wife in that couple. She wondered if maybe that woman was abused too, and just not mentioning it.

The counselor ended the session with a few tips to help the couples make it through the following two weeks.

"And remember this is a process. That means it takes time to change and grow. Some days might be easy, others will be hard. One step forward, two steps back. That's the way it will go for a while. So be patient with each other."

Marcus couldn't get out of that room fast enough. With Casey's hand in his he sprinted to the car as soon as the group was dismissed. Once they were inside he asked her, "do we really have to do this again?"

"Yes, Marcus, we really do. It wasn't that bad, and it's only for a few months."

He wasn't happy about it, but if it meant he could keep the woman he loved then he would do it. Their evening that night was pretty silent. They didn't talk about them or the other couples they met. Casey saw Marcus putting forth an effort to not lose his cool over nothing. She saw he was really trying, and it renewed her faith in them.

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Next Chapter: Marcus proves the truth of the couples counseling phrase _one step forward, two steps back _when he lets his temper fly in a public place.


	4. The Last Fight

I do not own any of the following characters in this chapter: Casey Novak, Fin Tutuola, John Munch, Elliot Stabler, Olivia Benson, and Don Cragen.

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The Last Fight

Casey strolled into the precinct with a warrant in her hand. She gave it to Fin and Munch, and they left the squad room quickly.

Just for the sake of being polite Casey said hello to Elliot and Olivia. She didn't really want to get in to a discussion about her own life, but she knew they would ask.

"Hello," Elliot said, "what's up?"

"Everything's good with me. How about you?" she said to Olivia trying to shift the attention.

"I'm great. Have you heard from Marcus?" Olivia didn't waste any time.

It was time for her to tell them. "Yeah. We moved back in together, and we're getting counseling."

Olivia didn't reply, so Elliot took over the conversation. "Well at least you're getting help," was all he could say without sounding as judgmental as he felt.

She said goodbye to the detectives and left. Olivia waited until Casey was out of the squadroom before she spoke again.

"What did I tell you? She got back together with him. I knew she would."

"We tried to help her. I guess this is something she has to figure out for herself."

**xxxx **

Casey was doing just that—trying to figure everything out. That evening was going to be their next counseling meeting. It had been two weeks since the first. At times Marcus was affable and their relationship improved. But Marcus still had demons he fought with. Often he lost those fights. Casey had been on the receiving end of his rage on more than ten occasions since their counseling began.

At times he would get angry, and instead of harming Casey he would go into the bedroom—his "cooling off" place—and punch the wall or throw a pillow across the room. But there were other times when he didn't cool off. When that happened he would revert back to his old ways.

Her back and her stomach were aching. The bruises were hidden by her clothes, and from the outside she looked perfectly healthy, but in reality she was in a lot of pain. He made it easy at times, and there were times when he made it very hard to love him. Over those two weeks she considered breaking off the relationship numerous times.

The night before was particularly hard on her. She wasn't exactly keeping track, but if she did she knew that the fight they had then ranked near the top of the most painful. He was more rough with her then in a way he almost never was.

She was at her desk when the phone rang.

"Casey Novak."

"_Hey, babe. How are you?"_

It was Marcus. He sounded sorry about what he did, and he sounded like that's why he called. That was a first, with the exception of that one time in therapy, he had never apologized for or talked about the things he did.

"I'm okay."

"_I'm almost done with my case. How 'bout we go to lunch this afternoon?"_

"Okay," her voice was somewhat standoffish as she didn't know exactly what his intensions were.

"_I'll meet you at that restaurant we went to on Friday, all right?"_

"All right. Say around three?"

"_Three it is."_

That case he was working on was his blood, sweat, and tears for nine grueling months. He was sure he could get his client (charged with murder) off. When the jury came back in with a verdict of guilty Marcus was furious. He was in a terrible mood and didn't want to do anything but go home and fume. He went to the restaurant that afternoon to meet Casey anyway.

As he was coming to the table—which was outside on a porch overlooking a scenic view—, even from the distance, Casey could see he was fuming. His fake smile was even more creepy than if he had just been frowning.

"Did you lose the case?" Casey knew.

"Yes, I lost the case," he replied in a mocking tone.

Casey knew from past experiences that the best way to handle that situation was to just be quiet. She waved for the attention of the waitress.

Half way through the meal (it was silent the entire time) Marcus started complaining about the service.

"Look at this crap. I told that bitch well done. This shit is raw."

He wasn't speaking loud at all, but Casey felt a blow up coming.

"Marcus," she reminded him of a technique they'd learned in therapy, "breathe. Try to calm down, please."

"Shut up!" That time he was loud. The whole restaurant, even the people inside, looked at them.

"Is there a problem, Sir?" their waitress came over and asked.

"Yes," Marcus said without hesitation, "this food you served me was garbage. I asked for well done. This is barely cooked."

"That is how we serve well done, Sir. It's cooked well."

"Um, no it's not. Do you not see this?"

"It looks okay to me."

"It looks okay to you," he laughed that sinister laugh he had right before he flipped.

"Marcus!" Casey took the heat off the waitress when she said that. Part of her intended to because she could see that Marcus was about to assault her. Another part of her was just plain fed up with his tantrums and her scream just came out of frustration.

It worked like a charm. Marcus's red face turned to Casey. He ripped the napkin off his shirt, slammed it on the table, and stood up. He grabbed Casey by the arm and pulled her so hard it nearly dislocated her shoulder.

The waitress shouted "call the police! Call the police!" as they walked out of the restaurant.

He forced Casey into the passenger's seat of his car. The whole way home their silence was occasionally broken by Casey's apologies and him telling her it was too late and he didn't want to hear it.

He barreled into the parking lot and dragged her to their apartment. When he shoved her in and slammed the door she held her breath and braced herself for what she knew was coming.

Her breath was held and her eyes were closed when she felt his first blow. He had either kicked or punched her back. Then he turned her around with his hands squeezing her arms. She (because of the pain and because he was holding her when she wanted to run) instinctively wanted to pull away, but she had learned better than that.

"Don't you ever! Ever talk to me like that again!"

"I'm sorry," she said in a shaky voice. She didn't cry anymore when he hurt her. She was all cried out. "I won't do it again, Marcus. Just please…please stop."

He released his left hand from her right arm and his right hand from her left. At first she thought he was going to stop, but instead he moved his left hand to hold onto her left arm and used his right hand to slap her over and over and over and over again.

When he let her go she fell to the floor. He walked away. Her face stung, but there would be no bruises. Her back ached, but no one would see those marks. Considering what she said to him she was surprised it was over as fast as it was. As ridiculous as she thought it was to think that at the time, he did seem to be getting better.

No cops were called. He left the apartment and didn't return until after dark. Casey was there when he got back. She was in the kitchen. He came over to her like a sad puppy who had just chewed up her shoes.

"Casey, I am so sorry."

"Why didn't you stop yourself before it got that bad?" she wasn't sure why she—outside of court anyway—asked a question that she knew the answer to.

"I couldn't. I did try, I really did try."

"I can't live like this, Marcus."

"I know, I know. Look, we have a counseling session tonight. We can---"

"I don't feel like going to counseling."

"Neither do I. But I think we should. We can go there and talk about what happened."

There was a ray of hope in Casey's eyes for a moment. "You're willing to tell them about the fight?"

"No. I meant we can tell them about the argument; about how I lost my temper with that waitress just because I was mad about my case."

"What good will that do?"

"Maybe she can give me advice. Like, that I shouldn't bring work home with me, that I never should have gone to the restaurant when I was so mad. I should have went to the gym and worked all my anger out before coming anywhere near you."

Casey was crushed to hear that. It meant Marcus already had the tools to keep himself out of a rage. It meant that when he was hurting her he had already known how to prevent it and just chose not to. It wasn't completely out of his control after all.

"That's exactly what she'd say, Marcus. It's exactly what she'd say, so there's no point in going. There's no point in going to therapy or going on with this."

"You're not quitting on me after all the work I've done," his tone told her he was ordering, not asking.

"Yes. I am."

She walked passed him, heading out of the kitchen, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her to the door, out to the car, and drove to their counseling session. That was a first—that he would use his power to help them. Casey said nothing all the way there.

**xxxx **

"How is everyone tonight?" Shawna asked.

Casey sat with her arms crossed, drawing the counselor's attention.

"Casey, are you angry about something?"

"We had another fight today."

"About?"

"…I don't even know."

"Marcus," Shawna said, "who started the fight?"

"I did. I was mad about work and I lost my temper with a waitress. When we got home I yelled at Casey for trying to calm me down."

"Did you apologize?"

"Yes, I did, but I don't think she accepted."

"Is that true, Casey?"

"…I don't know. I'm just so sick of this." She turned to Marcus, "I don't want to do this any more."

"Casey, I said I was sorry. I am doing the best I can."

"No you're not!" Finally after being stifled for too long she broke. "You knew you shouldn't have come to that restaurant today! You knew it!"

Shawna saw there was more going on between them than they were letting on. "Casey, did something else happen today?"

"There is a lot that has been happening that we haven't told---"

"Casey!" Marcus cut in.

"I am not keeping quiet anymore," she looked defiantly at him, then back to Shawna, "He gets violent."

"Oh, that does it." Marcus got up and left. Before he walked out the door he turned back and pointed his finger in Casey's direction, "I promise you will regret this."

That evening the session was spent by Casey talking about all the things she had kept silent about. It was such a relief to be able to speak without fear of the consequences. It wasn't that she no longer feared him, it was for a brief moment she was so fed up that she was no longer afraid of the fear.

The good thing that came out of that evening—other than Casey's willingness to speak of things she never thought she'd say—was that other couples disclosed abuse as well.

It was almost time for the group to be dismissed. "Okay, folks," Shawna said, "we have about two minutes left. I am going to give all of you the cards of a domestic abuse center. They have counselors who can talk with you and, if anyone needs it, shelters. Casey, are you going to be all right tonight?"

"Yes, I will. I feel better now than I have in a long time."

"You're not gonna go home tonight, are you?"

"No. I'll go to a hotel or something."

"You know I never would have agreed to help you if I knew these were the problems you had. I advise you to end your relationship with him immediately, over the phone. And bring a cop with you to move your stuff out of the apartment. It's best if you leave, so he doesn't know where you live."

"I know."

**xxxx**

Casey checked into a hotel that night. She didn't call Marcus because she knew he would only threaten her. She would only hang up more afraid than she already was. Her adrenaline that made her fearless enough to talk in the counseling session had worn off. She crashed big time. She couldn't believe she told the things she told. She was going to pay and pay big. She could only hope it wouldn't be with her life.

**xxxx**

Casey had two officers escort her to her old apartment, where she spent the whole next day moving her things out and to the hotel she was staying in. Marcus was at work, so she didn't have to confront him. She wrote him a detailed letter telling him how sorry she was that they couldn't work it out and that she wished him the best. She planned to call him from a pay phone that evening to say goodbye, but she didn't feel like talking about the break up, so she left her two-page Dear John letter by the phone, and took the caller I.D., so he couldn't know where she called from.

**xxxx **

By now I think you know I am gone. I really did want this relationship to work out. You've meant more to me than any man I've ever loved. I guess that's why I tried so hard to save us, even though it meant living through some of the worst pain I've ever known. The pain of losing you and leaving you lost and alone was far greater. I am so sorry I don't have the strength to continue to fight for us—for you.

That was the last paragraph of Casey's letter that Marcus read when he got home. Instead of the reaction Casey imagined he would have when he read it—screaming, punching holes in the walls, vowing to find her and kill her—he gently set the letter down and sat on the couch. He was calm for ten minutes while he acknowledged the fact that it was all his fault. He allowed himself to feel the guilt he deserved. But after he got sick of feeling sorry for himself he went on the defensive.

It was not all my fault, he thought, I agreed to the counseling. I agreed to try to fix the problems she had with us. There would never have been any problems if she would have done a few simple things that asked of her. How hard is it to keep an apartment clean and be home on time? She just didn't want to work on her role in this relationship. She wanted me to do all the work, and when I wouldn't she leaves.

With every thought he had he became madder and madder. He wasn't done with their relationship, so she couldn't be done either. If he did all that work she was going to see it through to the end or else she wouldn't see another day. That was when he reacted the way she knew he would. He went on a rampage destroying the apartment. He knew she would call, so he ran out and purchased a caller I.D. It was all set up when the phone rang.

"This better be you," he said to Casey on the other end.

"_Hello, Marcus, have you read the letter?"_

"Yeah, I read it, and I think it's a bunch of bull. You really wanted this relationship to work out," he read the last paragraph of the letter. "Then why the hell did you make it so damn hard?"

"_You were the one who made hard, Marcus."_

He wanted to yell, but he didn't. Through gritted teeth he spat, "you are not quitting yet. I want you to get your ass back here immediately or I swear I will blow your head off. You have thirty minutes to walk through that door or I will come and get you myself."

"_Goodbye, Marcus,"_Casey said calmly and hung up.

Marcus slammed the phone down. He looked at the caller I.D. In just half an hour he was at the location of the pay phone that Casey had made the call from.

**xxxx **

Marcus looked around the phone booth. There were mostly apartments and businesses, but he saw two hotels. As luck would have it, the first one he went to was the one she was in.

"Hello," he said to the clerk, "is Casey Novak here?"

"Yes, she is."

"Can you give me her room number?"

"I can't do that, but if you give me your name I will call her room and get permission to send you up."

"Actually, I haven't seen her in months and I really want to surprise her." With those and a few other lies he persuaded the clerk to give him the room number.

Casey heard a knock at the door. She jumped, but she didn't really expect it to be Marcus. How in the world could he know she was there? It was that thinking that made her open the door without asking who was on the other side.

As soon as Marcus saw the door open to a crack he pushed his way in. And closed and locked it behind him.

Casey and him stood facing each other.

"There are two ways you can leave this hotel," he said venomously, "with me….or in a body bag."

"Marcus---"

"Stop!" He stood with an inch between them and put his hands on her shoulders. Casey was sure he was about to strangle her. "I will not allow this relationship to end. Not now. Not ever…"

That was when Casey was certain the man she once loved was, in fact, a very sick man.

"…I have worked too hard for too long just for you to decide you don't want to put anything more into this. That's not a choice for you to make. You belong to me."

"Okay," Casey said with a shaky voice. "I'll get some of my things." As she turned away from him she pulled out her cell and dialed 911. But before she could start the cell rang back at her.

Marcus saw the phone and yanked it out of her hand. He knew what she was about to do. He made a fist with his free hand and hit her. She fell back and hit her head on the dresser, knocking her out cold. But that wasn't enough for him. She was going to call the police. She was going to have him arrested. She would move on and find another man. He couldn't let that happen. If she wouldn't be with him, she wouldn't be with anyone.

He kicked her several times in the stomach, making sure to hit all the major organs. After he was done he grabbed a vase and broke it over her head. He left his lifeless girlfriend for dead.

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Next Chapter: Casey fights to survive. The SVU squad searches for Marcus.


	5. The Last Fight 2

I do not own any of the following characters in this chapter: Casey Novak, Fin Tutuola, Elliot Stabler, Olivia Benson, John Munch, and Don Cragen.

Had to repost this last chapter because someone brought an error to my attention. Thanks for that. I appreciate it when people let me know something is up with one of my stories. :) As for the angle of Casey's family not being around, I figured she had no siblings and both her parents were probably dead...I should have wrote that in the story.

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The Last Fight 2  


Marcus knew he messed up big time. All his years of being an abuser he was always so careful not to go too far. He hadn't been out of that hotel for three minutes before he wished he had a chance to take back what he'd done. But it was too late. He was sure he killed her. No one could survive the injuries he inflicted on her. So he had two choices, either he would abandon his career and life of fifteen years and become a fugitive or he would use his knowledge as a defense attorney to get himself off.

How can they prove I killed her? he thought to himself, so I was there, big deal. That argument isn't without reasonable doubt. Anyone in that hotel could have hurt her.

**xxxx**

At nine-thirty the next morning, thirteen hours after Casey's attack, she was still laying lifeless on her hotel room floor. She had never regained consciousness and the internal bleeding that resulted from her injuries brought her closer and closer to death every minute.

The maid entered the room to clean it. She started screaming when she saw what she thought was a dead body. Once all the maids got off their initial shock, one had the nerve to check for a pulse. There barely was one that almost went undetected. Paramedics were called and came. As soon as she was brought to the hospital Casey was intubated and sent to the O.R. to repair the damage to her organs.

**xxxx**

"Hey," Fin said to Elliot and Olivia, "you seen Casey around?"

"No. Why?" Elliot said.

"Her secretary just called. She hasn't come in and she can't get in touch with her."

They shared a look of concern.

"I'm going to stop by her apartment," Olivia said, leaving quickly.

**xxxx **

"Casey," Olivia knocked on the door.

Marcus wasn't expecting them to come looking for her so soon. He composed himself to seem like he had no idea why Olivia was there. He opened the door. "Casey left me. She's not here."

Olivia was angry, grieved, but not surprised. She knew he killed her. But, of course, she couldn't arrest him. She was so upset she couldn't think of what to say.

He closed the door on her before she could say anything more anyway.

Olivia immediately pulled out her cell to call Elliot, but before she could dial her cell rang. "Benson."

It was Elliot. _"It's me. I called all local hospitals, Casey is at Beth Israel Hospital. She was found beaten in a hotel she was staying at. She is in surgery."_

"Do we have enough to arrest Marcus?"

"_Not yet. The police are over there now working on surveillance. He was there yesterday, but she wasn't found until this morning, so until she gets out and the doctors can tell us when she was hurt we can't do anything."_

**xxxx **

Meanwhile, Marcus was inside packing. He'd heard Olivia on the other side of the door. Forget about coming up with a defense, he was running.

Some time after Olivia left he finished packing. He had with him his pass port in case he needed it, but for the time being he was going to stay away from all airports, bus terminals, and train stations. His plan was to bring something hard—hard enough to kill someone instantly if they were to be hit with it—with him, find a place of business far away from his apartment and work place, wait around the parking garage, and when he spotted his victim, hit him from behind, and dump his body in the victim's trunk. That way he could steal the car without it being reported stolen. And he knew the police wouldn't start a search for the victim until forty-eight hours later, maybe more if the victim lived alone.

Marcus took a cab across town to an accounting firm. He waited around the parking garage. It was dark and since it was the middle of the day everyone was inside. He finally saw his target, a middle-aged business man headed towards a car with tinted windows. Marcus came up from behind him and with one strike to the head killed the man instantaneously. He grabbed the keys, left the body in the trunk, and took off in his new car.

**xxxx **

At the hospital Elliot and Olivia waited until Casey was out of surgery late that afternoon. They cornered the doctor as soon as he was available.

"Tell us about her condition," Elliot told him.

"She sustained a lacerated liver and kidney, which we repaired in the O.R. She also had a skull fracture and some bleeding in her brain, but we can't operate to fix that. It will have to heal on its own. We gave her some medication to stop the brain bleed, but there is still a lot of damage. She is not breathing on her own. She is intubated, so you can't speak with her---"

Olivia interrupted the doctor, "do you know when she was attacked?"

"Yes. It's the reason why her condition is so critical. She was bleeding internally for at least twelve hours, maybe more."

"So she was beaten at least twelve hours before she was found?" Elliot asked for clarity.

"Correct."

"Go get him," Elliot said to Olivia. She knew he was talking about Marcus.

**xxxx**

"Marcus, open up!" Olivia banged on the door. When there was no answer she kicked it in. He was gone. All his furniture was there, his car was in the parking lot, but all his clothes and suitcases were gone.

A judge put out a warrant for Marcus Bradford's arrest less than forty-five minutes after Olivia reported him gone. (but five hours and twenty minutes after he had actually ran) All the cops in the city were to be on the lookout for him.

**xxxx**

Olivia rushed back to the hospital with Fin, Munch, and Cragen when Elliot called them.

"What happened?" Olivia asked her partner.

"Casey's heart stopped twice in the past hour. They don't think she'll last much longer."

"There must be something they can do," Cragen said. "Where is the doctor?"

"He's in her room trying to keep her alive."

Cragen went to the I.C.U. even though he knew he wasn't supposed to without getting permission from the nurse. The detectives followed him.

Two nurses were tending to Casey and a doctor came out to talk to her visitors.

"How is she?" Cragen asked.

"Her condition is deteriorating…fast. She just had a seizure."

"What's going to happen?" Olivia asked. "What can you do?"

"We've done all we can do. I'm afraid only time will tell how this turns out."

"What the hell does that mean," Fin said, "you must know something."

The doctor had been sugar coding everything, glossing over what he really didn't want to have to tell them, but it was apparent that they wanted a straight answer, so he gave them one. "There's a good chance she won't make through the night."

"How good a chance?" it was Munch's turn to question the doctor.

"More than fifty percent….I'm sorry. You can stay with her as long as you wish."

**xxxx**

Night had fallen. Marcus had been driving in his stolen car with the dead body in the trunk for three and a half hours. He was out of the city, but not out of the state because most of his driving had been in circles trying to find an abandon place to dump the body. The place had to be completely remote, so he could take his time digging the hole he would use to bury the man he killed. He eventually came across a construction site. Of course there was no one around at night and there were no open businesses or homes in the area.

When he was comfortable that he was alone Marcus opened the trunk of the car and dragged the lifeless man over to the dirt. He cursed himself for not bringing a shovel as he dug with his hands and things at the site he employed as tools for over four hours until he was satisfied the hole was sufficient enough so that if the body was ever found it wouldn't be found for weeks, maybe months.

Another hour of burying and his work was done. It crossed his mind as he got on the freeway (not sure where he was going) of why he hadn't been smart enough to bury Casey as well. Why had he just left her to be found?

**xxxx **

Certain that Casey would probably die that night, none of the detectives wanted her to be alone. What if she woke up? What if she could hear and feel everything around her? They didn't want her to leave this world alone, so they agreed that while the others tried to find Marcus, at all times, one of them would be at the hospital with her.

Munch volunteered for the first shift in the I.C.U. It was almost midnight and it was Olivia who had the second shift. She arrived.

"How is she?" Olivia asked.

"She had one seizure, but her heart is beating normal again."

"She looks peaceful…except for the black eye."

Munch left and Olivia took the chair he was using. She held her friend's limp hand and wondered if Casey could hear her. She figured she had nothing to lose by speaking to her. If Casey didn't hear anything it didn't matter, but if she could she was probably scared out of her mind wondering what was going on.

"Hi, Casey, it's me Olivia. You're in the hospital because of Marcus. We are going to make sure we keep him away from you. You are doing great. You're going to be fine." Olivia felt a sting of guilt when she said those last five words that she was sure were a lie.

**xxxx**

A New York police station was called by a frantic wife whose husband, John Briggs, had not returned home. He was always home by six every evening and it was after one in the morning.

"I know something must have happened to him," the woman cried.

"Ma'am," the police officer said, "there is nothing I can go for forty-eight hours."

"Please, his secretary said he left in the afternoon for lunch and never came back. He's never done anything like this before."

"If he's not back in two days you can officially report him missing."

**xxxx**

"Hey, Captain!" Fin called.

Cragen came out of his office. "What is it?"

"A clerk at a convenient store thinks she may have spotted Marcus. He stopped for gas. He was driving a red sports car with tinted windows. She didn't see the plates."

"Send a cop to that store to talk to the clerk, then notify the police in that area."

**xxxx**

"Clear!" The doctor shocked Casey a third time in a desperate attempt to restart her heart that stopped following another seizure. "Normal rhythm…for now." It seemed futile to the doctors to keep bringing her back. They were certain she would be gone by morning anyway.

The room cleared out and Olivia was the only one left with Casey. In a way she'd hoped that the doctors wouldn't be able to restart her heart. At least then she would be out of pain. You will be at peace soon, Olivia thought. She sat back down in the chair beside Casey's bed and waited for the inevitable.

**xxxx**

Tired from his long day as a fugitive, Marcus—who was now in New Jersey—checked into a motel for the night. He planned to hide in plain sight for at least a couple of months before he left the country. He wanted to get as far away from New York as possible, so when morning came he was going to get back on the freeway and head west.

**xxxx**

Elliot was the one who was by Casey's bedside when the sun came up the next morning. Against all odds she lived longer than they had expected, but still everyone assumed it was only a matter of time before she flat-lined again, probably for good.

The doctor taking the next shift came in to see Casey. "Her blood pressure is normal, her heart rate is good, and her respiration is great. I think we can take her off the machines if she wakes up."

It was that '_if_she wakes up' that was the bad news. In addition to the only fifty percent chance of survival, Casey was also battling a ten percent chance that she wouldn't wake up, and if she did, a twenty percent chance that she would have brain damage. They could only hold on to the mere twenty percent chance that she would live, wake up, and function normally again.

"I'm going to take her up for a M.R.I. to see how her brain is healing."

**xxxx **

S.V.U. was going home to rest. Before they did they all stopped by to see Casey. Elliot told them what the doctor said.

"Where is she now?" Olivia asked.

"They're running more tests," Elliot said. "Did you find anything on Marcus?"

"Last we heard he was driving a red sports car. We don't have the plates though," Cragen informed him.

They waited until the doctor brought Casey back, so they could see her before they went home—incase they never got to see her again. But the doctor came back with her and some news that maybe that wouldn't happen.

The doctor wheeled Casey back where she was and explained his statement of 'I have some very good news' to the detectives. "Her brain is healing better and faster than we expected. The seizure damage is minimal."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Munch said.

"It means her fifty percent chance of survival just went up to seventy-five."

"What about the brain damage?" Olivia asked, hoping for a good reply.

"That's down to fifteen percent. And because the damage is healing well her chances of waking up are better too. This is good news, Detectives."

**xxxx**

Two days later the police were officially looking for John Briggs, S.V.U. was still searching for Marcus, and Casey had still not opened her eyes, but the good news was the doctors were now almost certain she would survive. As for how her quality of life would be after she awoke,—or if she awoke—that was something else.

"Check this out," Munch said, "This guy went missing the same day Marcus fled. His name is John Briggs. Guess what kind of car he drives."

"I'm hoping it's a red sports car," Olivia said.

"Right. And it gets better. A cab driver saw Marcus's picture on the news and reported that he dropped him off at John's accounting firm the day he disappeared. I looked, but I can't find any history that would suggest that Marcus knew John."

"That's because he didn't. It was random. Marcus killed John so he could steal the car and not have it be reported missing."

"Having a person be reported missing is better?" Elliot asked incredulously.

"Marcus knew the police wouldn't look for John until a couple of days, at least. By now he's probably disposed of the body and the car."

"Nevertheless," Munch said, "I am still going to put an all points bulletin on the car."

**xxxx **

Casey opened her eyes. Everything was a blur at first, and then it gradually got clearer. While she was waiting for her sight to return (for about five minutes) and trying to figure out what was down her throat she started to remember her fight with Marcus the last time she saw him. When she could see again she realized where she was—in the hospital. She realized the thing in her mouth was a tube to help her breathe. She wondered how long she'd been there. She was weak and could barely move. A nurse finally noticed she was awake and came in. The nurse explained to her exactly what happened to her.

"Now that you're up," the nurse said, "we can take that tube out of you."

The doctors were anxious to see how much, if any, brain damage she sustained, so as soon as they took the tubes out they talked to her for an hour, having her answer simple questions, having her look at drawings of everyday things and identify them, engaging her in conversation to see how good her vocabulary was. She passed all their tests with flying colors. When they were confident of her good outcome they notified the Special Victims Unit.

"The doctor is calling your friends. They should be here soon," one of the nurses told Casey.

**xxxx**

Cragen, Fin, Munch, Olivia, and Elliot hurried to the hospital as soon as they got the call. The doctor explained Casey's condition, and then the nurse allowed them in.

"How are you?" Cragen was first to speak to the A.D.A. that he never thought he'd speak to again.

Casey replied with exhaustion. She was beat from all the interrogating the doctors had given her. "I think I'm fine...Considering."

Olivia figured she was wondering, so she told her what they had on Marcus. "Marcus is on the run, but we will find him."

"I don't want to hear or talk about that now."

"Okay. You should rest. We'll see you later."

**xxxx**

Casey was hospitalized for another twenty days and was released. She took a cab home. She had delayed telling anyone about what happened her last day with Marcus during her recovery, but now she was out of the hospital and it was only a matter of time before someone came over to talk to her. She heard a knock at the door.

It was Olivia. "Hello. I came by the hospital and they said you were released. Why didn't you call us?"

Casey opened the door wider and let Olivia in. "I was putting off talking about…you know, as long as possible. But you're here now, so….ask me."

"Okay. What happened?"

"I couldn't take it anymore, so I left. I was staying at that hotel when he came over…I still don't know how he knew I was there."

"Caller I.D."

"I took our caller I.D."

"He got another one."

"I didn't even think of that…I am so stupid."

"You're not. You were panicking. It's understandable that you overlooked that. Tell me what happened next."

"He pushed his way in. We were talking. And he attacked me. All I remember is him hitting me once in the face, but I guess he did more."

"A lot more. Did he say anything about leaving the city…Do you know anywhere he could be?"

"All he said was he wanted me to come home…I guess I have to press charges this time, huh? He'll never leave me alone."

"Actually you don't have to do anything unless you want to. You know if you press charges you will have to testify."

"But if I don't press charges he'll get off."

Olivia was reluctant, but she told Casey why that wasn't true. "No, he won't. He may have murdered a man. And we're almost certain he stole a car. Even without your testimony he's going away—for a few years if he just stole the car and for a lot longer if he hurt the owner."

In perfect timing Olivia's cell went off. "Benson…..Okay, I'm here with Casey. I'll tell her, bye." She put her cell back in her pocket.

"Tell me what?"

"They found Marcus. He's in custody on his way back here. They found the car he stole, but there's no sign of the owner."

Casey sat on the couch in shock. "I can't believe this. I never, never thought he could kill me or anyone else."

"You didn't fall for something that millions of women before you have—believing in the man that you loved. I'm just glad this one had a happy ending."

"Not for Marcus. I should have just left the first time he hit me; then he'd be fine."

"Until he killed his next girlfriend. Casey, this is for the best. Now we all know what he is capable of and we can protect society from him."

**xxxx**

Months later Casey was back to work. Marcus was still locked up and the police were still looking for John Brigg's body, which was found three days before Marcus's trial began.

Back at the S.V.U. squad.

"The trial starts tomorrow," Munch commented.

"The stupid thing about this whole thing is," Fin said, "if Marcus had just taken Novak to the hospital he would only be charged with assault. He'd be paroled in five to seven years. Now he's going away for life."

**xxxx **

Marcus was tried and convicted of first degree murder (35 years), attempted murder (15 years), and grand theft auto (5 years). He was sentenced to fifty-five years in prison. He would have the possibility to be paroled in thirty-five years should he live that long.


End file.
